Minnesota Vikings sign defensive tackle Claudell Louis

Former Buffalo Bills undrafted free agent and Fresno State Bulldogs defensive tackle Claudell Louis has been signed to the Minnesota Vikings roster.

The Minnesota Vikings recently made some transactions to shift around their roster and opened up some spots to bring in some new faces. Two of those spots were filled earlier, however the official Vikings website filled fans in on the other signing today.

According to the post on Vikings.com, a spot on the roster has been filled by defensive tackle Claudell Louis, who went as an undrafted free agent in 2016, but was signed to the Buffalo Bills for OTAs.

Louis’ story is an interesting one. As a native of Haiti, his family was still on the island during the massive earthquakes of January 13, 2010. Once the quake and aftershocks ended, the area was reduced to rubble with an estimated 100,000 people dying during the natural disaster.

Desperately trying to reach his loved ones, Louis snuck away from his job working at a retirement home and frantically called, eventually reaching his cousin Ralph. During that call, Louis learned that the building they lived in had collapsed and several people close to him had lost their lives.

Claudell Louis played football at Fresno State, but had more motivation than just becoming a professional football player. In fact, one of the things at the top of his list according to ESPN.com shows the kind of character this young man has.

"“I would probably start with an orphanage. Help all the little kids. Use myself as an example because I was born and raised in Haiti. Telling them that anything is possible. Because a lot of them, just a lot of kids in general just grow up and feel like they don’t have hope. But I mean, hope is a powerful thing. You got to keep believing and keep pushing yourself to get better.”"

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Hopefully, Louis can prove to be a great story in NFL and become a success with the Minnesota Vikings. With the hardship he and his family have endured and the big heart he has, it is hard not to root for this young man to succeed. Best of luck to Claudell Louis going forward.